I remember in elementary school hearing those words that all men are created equal and believing them. My parents and grandparents came to America believing those words. That was crucial to their decision of where to go. I hope in our slow and sometimes painful steps to insure a more perfect union we get there and become that shining cit…
I remember in elementary school hearing those words that all men are created equal and believing them. My parents and grandparents came to America believing those words. That was crucial to their decision of where to go. I hope in our slow and sometimes painful steps to insure a more perfect union we get there and become that shining city on a hill. I hope Dr. King’s arc of justice is right. It is worth working for and hoping for and believing in.
Molly, the arc is bending. In the 1960’s, it was rare to see a white person marching for civil rights. In the George Floyd protests, a substantial percentage of the protesters were white. Yes, it’s moving toward justice, but way too slow.
Please don't underestimate 60s civil rights activism. I remember that decade very well. In Seattle there was an active CORE group, and well known people were working for equal rights. Some went to Mississippi and joined in the protests there. Black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King in 1961, came up from the south and spoke to large audiences here.
I participated in the Seattle school boycott. Later in the decade there was violence. White groups targeted White and Black civil rights activists, and Black groups targeted Whites. Edwin Pratt moved his family here in 1961 to lead the Urban League and was assassinated at his home in 1969. He is remembered to this day, and two parks and a fine arts school are named for him.
Thank you for this piece of history, particularly about the Urban League. Marc Morial is my first acquaintance with that organization. Now I have Pratt’s background as yesterday, watching Mrs. Evers interview with Joy Ried, I was reminded of Medger Evers whose death by assassination I remember well.
Ruth, thank you for sharing this history. I was not denigrating the activism of the 1960’s. I’m just saying that, when my mom marched to desegregate the Oklahoma City schools, she was the only white person in a group of over 50. I’ve looked at the famous pictures of the marches at that time and the racial mix seems overwhelmingly one-sided.
A speech both simple and profound, Lincoln wondered if anyone cared. It speaks volumes with so very few words. It moves us through the ages and reminds us of what we could, and should, be.
I believe it's the single most compelling and effective speech in America's history. Lincoln beautifully made his point in as few words as possible. A speech for the ages.
Molly, I wish humankind could embrace this concept and integrate it in our whole being, and banish the greed and avarice that seems to act so boldly within so so so many of us. IMHO greed is killing us, our fellow species and the planet as we know it. Sigh, I have never understood it. At. All.
Yesterday vision of a cartoon: group of billionaires sitting at a table eating paper money. One says “Why isn’t there any catsup”? It’s for the greedy who refuse to recognize climate change of course. We have to change diet, housing, get back to small vegetable gardens. Americans were much more equipped to deal with scarcity during WWII than now and not just because of the Great Depression. We were closer to the land and to basic truths about being human: food, skills, and fun.
Every child should know the basics of growing enough food to survive on. And then be introduced to the idea of trading products with others. They should know where their water comes from and how precious it is.
They should know the difference between the super processed junk and the real food. Nutrition should be a primary focus.
And how is it that in the richest nation in the history of the Earth - with many $ trillions available, it is even a question as to whether an American has a good roof over her/his head? Why isn't having two full time jobs enough to raise kids and survive on?
How can it be that ANY veteran would even have to ask for shelter, water and food? Why doesn't each service member have an advocate? Who are we?
We are nuts. We have embraced malnutrition and trickle down economics for starters. I would say ONE job to support a family in case one member wants to parent and the other wants to work outside. But we must add no more than one “natural” child per family and begin thinking how to have graceful adoptions of the world’s orphans. I have seen two very successful ones, know it takes special people, but think the idea needs to be in the public sphere.
Yes, and just think, in Ron DeStupids world, all the farmland will be replaced with concrete. He doesn’t like farming, or farmers. They don’t produce money for his pockets. Food, to him, is something we can get from other countries. No matter how poisonous it is.
Now isn’t the time to ‘bury our heads in the sand’! We are not ostriches. We are human beings. We have to vote. We have to make ‘supermajorities’ in the House and Senate. We have to keep our Democratic president.
At 89 I have the same fears, but am doing all I can to bring it about. Writing first get out the vote postcards today. Planning on at least 1000 by mid-October 2024.
I’ll join you! If anyone out there would like to write post cards to Dems reminding them to vote in state and national elections, go to www.postcardstovoters.com.
Do we actually think we are equal. Have to admit I have a problem with my MAGAt friends and relatives. Easy to consider them ignorant but most are not. Just found a division that appealed to them. Guess I have too.
Humans are one SPECIES, Homo sapiens. According to lots of reputable sources easy to find online Race is a sociological human construct first used or semi-defined in the 19th century when humans first had a glimpse of the reality and implications of biological evolution via Chas. Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, etc. It has some biological meaning when used for domesticated plants and animals (such as in farming and horticulture) but no scientific accuracy or depth when applied to humans.
I often think we should be teaching and emphasizing the idea that as a SPECIES we all originated from COMMON ancestors which might affect how people consider one another but I guess that’s too technical for people who view themselves as top dogs (not meaning to call out dogs).
The Brits began colonization of India in the mid 1700's. They treated people native to India as subhuman and turned them into servants and slaves.
Maybe they did not use the word "race" but Brits clearly felt superior because they were white.
Many Indians probably did as well since, India's Hindu religion is based on a hierarchy of holiness with light skinned people at the top of the hierarchy (caste system in India).
My guess? Neanderthals did not fare well when anatomically modern humans showed up in northern Europe not because Anatomically modern humans thought they were "equal".
Perhaps each human just has evolved a desperate need to feel superior to someone????
I can say it is the (very) rare person I meet that truly grants a feeling of equality to all comers.
Thanks for your update on my modest attempt at making a historical reference. As things look now I'm sure you're correct about the long long history of humans' using those ideas for personal gain no matter the terminology. OTOH and possibly related I found it interesting that 23&Me claims to detect a smidge of Neanderthal DNA in my genome. If true it means somehow we as a species continue to carry that legacy forward.
All living beings - homo sapiens included are related. We are all cousins. Would that we would treat every being with the respect of being part of the family.
I really appreciated the animation until the end when Aung San Suu Kyi, was held up as the icon of its manifesting. Sadly, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner and popular leader of Myanmar has fallen from grace because of her defence of the military, condemned at the International Court of Justice for their shameful brutality towards her nation's Muslim minority, the Rohyinga.
I remember in elementary school hearing those words that all men are created equal and believing them. My parents and grandparents came to America believing those words. That was crucial to their decision of where to go. I hope in our slow and sometimes painful steps to insure a more perfect union we get there and become that shining city on a hill. I hope Dr. King’s arc of justice is right. It is worth working for and hoping for and believing in.
Molly, the arc is bending. In the 1960’s, it was rare to see a white person marching for civil rights. In the George Floyd protests, a substantial percentage of the protesters were white. Yes, it’s moving toward justice, but way too slow.
Please don't underestimate 60s civil rights activism. I remember that decade very well. In Seattle there was an active CORE group, and well known people were working for equal rights. Some went to Mississippi and joined in the protests there. Black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King in 1961, came up from the south and spoke to large audiences here.
I participated in the Seattle school boycott. Later in the decade there was violence. White groups targeted White and Black civil rights activists, and Black groups targeted Whites. Edwin Pratt moved his family here in 1961 to lead the Urban League and was assassinated at his home in 1969. He is remembered to this day, and two parks and a fine arts school are named for him.
Thank you for this piece of history, particularly about the Urban League. Marc Morial is my first acquaintance with that organization. Now I have Pratt’s background as yesterday, watching Mrs. Evers interview with Joy Ried, I was reminded of Medger Evers whose death by assassination I remember well.
Ruth, thank you for sharing this history. I was not denigrating the activism of the 1960’s. I’m just saying that, when my mom marched to desegregate the Oklahoma City schools, she was the only white person in a group of over 50. I’ve looked at the famous pictures of the marches at that time and the racial mix seems overwhelmingly one-sided.
Kudos to your mother!! It's true, times and people have changed in so many ways.
Do you not remember Selma?
A speech both simple and profound, Lincoln wondered if anyone cared. It speaks volumes with so very few words. It moves us through the ages and reminds us of what we could, and should, be.
I believe it's the single most compelling and effective speech in America's history. Lincoln beautifully made his point in as few words as possible. A speech for the ages.
Yes! That all are created equal, along with the Gettysburg address, “words to live by in 2023.”
Molly Ciliberti, perhaps you will take a look at my post on the original meaning of the Declaration:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-3-2023/comment/18093263
Another pusher of his substack, trolling for subscribers.
p.s. I don't have a substack. The link was to a post I made in response to HCR.
Report the troll
We are one race, human, with equal rights and standing under the law. We are innocent until proven guilty.
If we can do this we can then look to how we treat and interact with the other creatures on this planet, as this is their home too.
Molly, I wish humankind could embrace this concept and integrate it in our whole being, and banish the greed and avarice that seems to act so boldly within so so so many of us. IMHO greed is killing us, our fellow species and the planet as we know it. Sigh, I have never understood it. At. All.
Yesterday vision of a cartoon: group of billionaires sitting at a table eating paper money. One says “Why isn’t there any catsup”? It’s for the greedy who refuse to recognize climate change of course. We have to change diet, housing, get back to small vegetable gardens. Americans were much more equipped to deal with scarcity during WWII than now and not just because of the Great Depression. We were closer to the land and to basic truths about being human: food, skills, and fun.
Oh Virginia. You are singing my song.
Every child should know the basics of growing enough food to survive on. And then be introduced to the idea of trading products with others. They should know where their water comes from and how precious it is.
They should know the difference between the super processed junk and the real food. Nutrition should be a primary focus.
And how is it that in the richest nation in the history of the Earth - with many $ trillions available, it is even a question as to whether an American has a good roof over her/his head? Why isn't having two full time jobs enough to raise kids and survive on?
How can it be that ANY veteran would even have to ask for shelter, water and food? Why doesn't each service member have an advocate? Who are we?
We are nuts. We have embraced malnutrition and trickle down economics for starters. I would say ONE job to support a family in case one member wants to parent and the other wants to work outside. But we must add no more than one “natural” child per family and begin thinking how to have graceful adoptions of the world’s orphans. I have seen two very successful ones, know it takes special people, but think the idea needs to be in the public sphere.
Yes Bill yes Virginia good food good wickiups. Good living. Joy.
And learn to cook!
Do you know about once-upon-a-time “Home-Ec” classes in high schools. For girls then, “Shop” for boys. No reason the classes couldn’t be for both.
Yes, and just think, in Ron DeStupids world, all the farmland will be replaced with concrete. He doesn’t like farming, or farmers. They don’t produce money for his pockets. Food, to him, is something we can get from other countries. No matter how poisonous it is.
We all need to look out for ourselves, and also each other. I think that extreme self-centeredsess is the root of most human suffering.
Now isn’t the time to ‘bury our heads in the sand’! We are not ostriches. We are human beings. We have to vote. We have to make ‘supermajorities’ in the House and Senate. We have to keep our Democratic president.
At 80, I fear that I might not live to see it.
At 89 I have the same fears, but am doing all I can to bring it about. Writing first get out the vote postcards today. Planning on at least 1000 by mid-October 2024.
I’ll join you! If anyone out there would like to write post cards to Dems reminding them to vote in state and national elections, go to www.postcardstovoters.com.
Great idea and something to live for. We cannot let our democracy die.
Barbara,
Would, that we humans, would actually think that each of us is equal to each other.
However, based on just my walk through life:
Lots of folks are happy to divide us into:
who is going to heaven and who is going to hell.
who is going to Ivy and who is not.
who is going to Texas A&M and who is going to Univ of Texas.
who is working and who is not.
who is on welfare and who is living on Daddy's money (wait, same thing?)
who is going fishing and who is going to work.
who owns a gun and who does not.
who votes Democrat and who votes Republican
who watches Fox News and who watches no TV at all.
who reads books and who uses twitter.
Of course, the above list is infinite if I keep going or ask you guys to add to it.
So, I don't think we are in any danger of thinking we are all "equal" anytime soon.
Humans naturally, for whatever reason, want to find reasons that each of us are SUPERIOR.
Do we actually think we are equal. Have to admit I have a problem with my MAGAt friends and relatives. Easy to consider them ignorant but most are not. Just found a division that appealed to them. Guess I have too.
Jeri,
It is OK. You are human. I think it is one of our evolved features.
Too human sometimes…
Perhaps we need to focus on celebrating our differences and thus discover our "equalness"!
Humans are one SPECIES, Homo sapiens. According to lots of reputable sources easy to find online Race is a sociological human construct first used or semi-defined in the 19th century when humans first had a glimpse of the reality and implications of biological evolution via Chas. Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, etc. It has some biological meaning when used for domesticated plants and animals (such as in farming and horticulture) but no scientific accuracy or depth when applied to humans.
I often think we should be teaching and emphasizing the idea that as a SPECIES we all originated from COMMON ancestors which might affect how people consider one another but I guess that’s too technical for people who view themselves as top dogs (not meaning to call out dogs).
The Brits began colonization of India in the mid 1700's. They treated people native to India as subhuman and turned them into servants and slaves.
Maybe they did not use the word "race" but Brits clearly felt superior because they were white.
Many Indians probably did as well since, India's Hindu religion is based on a hierarchy of holiness with light skinned people at the top of the hierarchy (caste system in India).
My guess? Neanderthals did not fare well when anatomically modern humans showed up in northern Europe not because Anatomically modern humans thought they were "equal".
Perhaps each human just has evolved a desperate need to feel superior to someone????
I can say it is the (very) rare person I meet that truly grants a feeling of equality to all comers.
Thanks for your update on my modest attempt at making a historical reference. As things look now I'm sure you're correct about the long long history of humans' using those ideas for personal gain no matter the terminology. OTOH and possibly related I found it interesting that 23&Me claims to detect a smidge of Neanderthal DNA in my genome. If true it means somehow we as a species continue to carry that legacy forward.
All living beings - homo sapiens included are related. We are all cousins. Would that we would treat every being with the respect of being part of the family.
I really appreciated the animation until the end when Aung San Suu Kyi, was held up as the icon of its manifesting. Sadly, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner and popular leader of Myanmar has fallen from grace because of her defence of the military, condemned at the International Court of Justice for their shameful brutality towards her nation's Muslim minority, the Rohyinga.
Loved the video-thank you for sharing the link. Aspirational and inspirational and timely-esp the last reminder!
Thank you for this, Red Thread!
Can’t wait to share it.